CVE-2016-6803 in OpenOffice
Summary
by MITRE
An installer defect known as an "unquoted Windows search path vulnerability" affected the Apache OpenOffice before 4.1.3 installers for Windows. The PC must have previously been infected by a Trojan Horse application (or user) running with administrative privilege. Any installer with the unquoted search path vulnerability becomes a delayed trigger for the exploit.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/04/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2016-6803 represents a critical installer defect that exploited an unquoted Windows search path vulnerability within Apache OpenOffice installers prior to version 4.1.3. This flaw specifically affected Windows operating systems and created a significant security risk through improper path handling during the installation process. The vulnerability was classified under CWE-428, which addresses "Unquoted Search Path or Library Load," a well-documented weakness in software installation mechanisms that has been consistently flagged in security assessments and penetration testing activities.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stemmed from the installer's failure to properly quote pathnames containing spaces when constructing the Windows search path. When Windows processes an executable path that contains spaces without proper quotation, it follows a specific search order that begins with the current directory and proceeds through the system PATH. This behavior allows an attacker to place a malicious executable with the same name as the legitimate program in a directory that appears earlier in the search path, causing the system to execute the malicious code instead of the intended program. The vulnerability was particularly dangerous because it required only a single condition to be met - the presence of an administrative user on the system who had previously installed a trojan horse application that maintained persistence.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was severe and particularly concerning from a cyber threat perspective as it enabled attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges without requiring direct user interaction or complex exploitation techniques. This weakness created a delayed trigger mechanism that could be activated at any time after the initial infection, making it a persistent threat that could be leveraged for various malicious activities including data exfiltration, system compromise, or establishment of backdoors. The vulnerability's exploitation was significantly enhanced by the fact that it could be triggered through legitimate software installation processes, allowing attackers to maintain persistence while appearing to be normal software updates or installations.
The attack vector for this vulnerability was particularly insidious because it required an initial compromise through a trojan horse application that gained administrative privileges on the target system. This prerequisite meant that the vulnerability was not exploitable through simple web-based attacks or social engineering techniques, but rather through pre-existing system compromises that had already established a foothold. The security implications extended beyond the immediate exploitation, as this flaw could be combined with other attack techniques to create more sophisticated multi-stage attacks that could bypass traditional security controls and detection mechanisms. Organizations implementing security controls based on the ATT&CK framework would have identified this as a potential technique for privilege escalation and persistence, highlighting the importance of proper installer configuration and path handling practices.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-6803 required immediate patching of affected Apache OpenOffice installations to version 4.1.3 or later, which properly quoted all search paths during the installation process. Additionally, system administrators should have implemented strict access controls and privilege management policies to prevent unauthorized administrative access, as well as conducted thorough security assessments to identify any pre-existing trojan horse infections that might have been exploiting this vulnerability. The remediation process also involved verifying that all system installers followed proper path quoting practices and implementing security monitoring to detect suspicious installation activities or unauthorized code execution attempts. Organizations should have reviewed their software deployment processes and updated their security policies to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future software installations, particularly emphasizing the importance of proper path handling in all installer components.